Hitting retirement age unprepared can be one of the most life difficult situations to encounter. Suddenly, you realize you still need to cater for yourself and your spouse and any dependents living with you. Sometimes too, the economy can become so volatile that perhaps only an old or new investment can provide any form of cover…

That is not a pretty picture; certainly not one you want to even imagine a second time. Relax. It’s just one side of the retirement coin; the bad side that is.

The other side is the model retirement everyone dreams about where the world becomes your Oyster; and it’s possible. Ah, yes, the one where you finally get to live the life you’ve always wanted and deserved after decades of an active work life. That is why many happy retirees and senior citizens today learnt early to always keep up with the best retirement news out there.

Generally, no one still wants to continue to invest so many long hours and work after their retirement, but certain conditions and sometimes rare opportunities could make you reconsider that perception even after you’ve put a stop to an active work life.

What makes any post-retirement gig different? Mostly, it’s something you can do from the comfort of your home and with less energy – just about enough that your physical strength plus wealth of experience can take to earn you a more handsome retirement.

Opt-In For a Volunteer Work

This may not be exactly what you’d expect first, right? After all, the term ‘volunteer’ basically means ‘free’ and so does not pay.

But finding opportunities that fit your skill and physical energy within your community is a good way to start, especially if you have been too busy during your working age for a lot of people to know you.

There have been great stories of people that first started volunteer works within their community, did very well there and after a little while started earning well from it. Working in a volunteer organization, first of all, exposes you to more people around the community and the opportunities they can offer.

All you need to do is to work with your heart and give the best you can relating to your skill in any volunteer organization you find yourself. Then, sit back and watch more people come in seeking your services and eventually offering to pay for those services.

Sell Off Your Old Stuff

Over the years, you have most likely accumulated and stored a lot of your stuff and items that may no longer be very useful to you anymore. Selling them off is a good way of earning cash. You can sell off the old clothes, box, radio and a lot of others that now have very little value to you but could be more valuable to others.

The best way to do this is to sell by season. There are various items that are more useful in one season like a sweater is more useful during that winter season than any other one. Selling items in a season they are needed more will help you get a good price on them than when you simply go for a general garage sale.

You could also try to use a little skill of art and design if you think you got what it takes to redesign some old stuff into something more fashionable and in style. This helps you get more money on those items.

Write a Book

Where you a blogger or a content developer in your old job? Do you think you have some fresh or old ideas you want to share to other? Then you can start gathering and arranging those ideas you have or had as you blogged in the past and turn them into a book, particularly an e-book. An e-book is much simpler to write and there are a lot of publishers available to help you out with publishing and selling them online. This is a really good way of getting extra cash.

Online tutoring

Where you once a teacher and you still want to continue passing your knowledge to others? Then you can start an online lesson program in various subjects and for students of various level, whether elementary, high school or college.

A lot of parents, especially during the holiday, seek online tutors for their ward to help them perform better in the next academic session. In this way, you can still earn frequently while doing what you always loved and basically at your convenience.

Become a Consultant

This is another great way of obtaining a regular income while doing what you love and with much ease. If before retirement, you’d previously worked in the fields of programming, application and website development or even finance, then you have a big opportunity waiting out there.

Retired persons with valuable degrees and many years of experience in these areas are usually sought after for advice and business opinions. In addition, you can easily pick up a few jobs that you can work on at your own convenience without inviting any form of workload on yourself.

Career and Business Coaching

For a retired person with a lot of experience in business, this is a very good way of impacting your knowledge and wisdom on others.

You can help persons that are still having trouble deciding what career path to take by giving them relevant advice and counsel on how to take this big step.

You could also help young business owners or startup CEOs with good business advice and strategies that can help grow and expand their business; and earn money offering your invaluable experience.

Rent Out a Property

Do you have a house that you are not living in and not planning to put into use anytime soon? It doesn’t have to continue to lie fallow when it could go a long way in providing a fairly stable income for you and your family.

Renting it out could be a good choice to reduce the bill and nay mortgage you might be paying for the house. So instead of leaving it to waste, you can invest a little retirement fund into it to renovate it into a better shape and then provide a house for someone while you earn a reasonable amount from it.